Pilgrimage

Hatheesign Jain Temples
Of the Jain temples, the oldest is the temple dedicated to SAMBHAVNATH at ZAVERI VAD. Constructed in 1600 AD it houses a magnificent idol. A flight of steps leads to an underground temple of the same size as that above ground but the most magnificent is Sheth Hatheesing's Jain Temple outside Delhi Gate, built by Sheth Hatheesing, a rich Jain merchant, in 1848 AD. Built of pure white marble, it has a paved courtyard surrounded by an imposing row of cloisters containing 52 shrines, each with an image of a tirthankara, profusely decorated with rich carvings, one containing the marble image of the 15^th tirthankar. The temple is a two storied structure with elaborate porches on three sides and front porch crowned by a large dome. It was designed by Premchand Salat and is dedicated to Dharmanath, the fifteenth Jina or Jain apposite. It was built at a cost of Rs 10 Lacs, a sum unimaginable in those days.

DHANDHUKA
Important commercial centre and a junction on Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar meter-gauge section, the taluka headquarter is famous as the birth place of Hemchandrachrya Suri, an eminent Jain perceptor in whose honour king Kumarpal had raised a temple here. The town has an ancient step-well too.